From cars to living spaces
52.7% of Chinese see “cars evolving from transport to cozy living spaces.” 62.4% of consumers are eager to invest in car camping gear, like car-side tents, storage boxes and more. 66% of respondents see their cars as a mobile living room, while 48.6% use their vehicles as a stress-free retreat. These were some interesting numbers by Caijing that I learned from Ashley Dudarenok.
I find these statistics particularly interesting in the light of our current housing crisis. Recently a real estate expert told me that the gap between renters and owners keeps widening with fewer people being able to afford buying a home. It’s no surprise that young people are struggling to buy a house, if you realize for instance that the median existing-home price in the US has risen from $119,600 in 2000 to ~$257,000 in 2019 to a staggering ~$417,000 today. In fact, even renting is becoming problematic. 15% of EU youngsters are struggling to pay their rent, according to Eurostat data. Greece has the highest rate of people who are struggling, 17.7%, followed by France (16.7%), Slovenia (10.5%) and the Netherlands (10.4%).
That’s one of the biggest reasons why the tiny house trend is increasing. When I visited Zappos in Las Vegas several years ago, I learned that the late CEO Anthony Hsieh saw this trend coming and even constructed a tiny house village for his friends and workers. Today, with the cost of living that keeps rising, this approach keeps becoming more relevant.
I would not be surprised if the mobility trend of campers and vans and that of tiny houses would merge at one point, or that they would at least contaminate each other. When I visited Google in San Francisco in 2019, I for instance noticed campers in the parking lot that accommodated some of their employees. True, the gentrification of San Franscisco has long been pushing housing prices up to astronomical heights, making them even unaffordable for some tech workers (who usually receive royal pay). But I also do believe that “cars evolving from transport to cozy living spaces”, as described by Caijing, will be an interesting trend that automotive players should definitely keep an eye on.
That’s one of the biggest reasons why the tiny house trend is increasing. When I visited Zappos in Las Vegas several years ago, I learned that the late CEO Anthony Hsieh saw this trend coming and even constructed a tiny house village for his friends and workers. Today, with the cost of living that keeps rising, this approach keeps becoming more relevant.
I would not be surprised if the mobility trend of campers and vans and that of tiny houses would merge at one point, or that they would at least contaminate each other. When I visited Google in San Francisco in 2019, I for instance noticed campers in the parking lot that accommodated some of their employees. True, the gentrification of San Franscisco has long been pushing housing prices up to astronomical heights, making them even unaffordable for some tech workers (who usually receive royal pay). But I also do believe that “cars evolving from transport to cozy living spaces”, as described by Caijing, will be an interesting trend that automotive players should definitely keep an eye on.
